Leon Panetta is a Democrat who served in the White House budget office. In Congress he chaired the House Budget Committee. And he led the intelligence and military operations that led to DevGru popping Osama bin Laden.
In short, he is the perfect man for these lean times:
“No budget can be balanced on the back of defense spending alone,” said Mr. Panetta, “For that matter, no budget can be balanced on the back of discretionary spending alone.”
Discretionary spending refers to that portion of federal expenditure that is set each year by Congress, as opposed to the automatic mandatory spending every year on entitlement programs, like Social Security and Medicare.
“Real deficit reduction only happens when everything is on the table – discretionary [spending], mandatory spending, and revenues,” Mr. Panetta said.
The planned spending reductions in the administration’s new defense budget would result in a “smaller, leaner” force, he said.
“But at the same time it should be agile, it should be flexible, it should be ready, and it should be technologically advanced,” he added.
Nonetheless, Mr. Panetta acknowledged, “I can’t reduce the [defense] budget by half-a-trillion dollars and, frankly, not increase risks” to national security.
Preach it, brother.
Maybe Panetta is one of these Dems that you don’t have to
worry about the fall of the Republic..
Oh I TOTALLY disagree. Panetta has been specially selected for his ability to shed Crocodile tears while all the time playing “Mack the Knife” as Obama directs the orchestra in the 3-Penny Opera–because 3 pennies is all that will be left of the budget when Obama and his willing accomplice (this will hurt me more than it hurts you) in the gutting of the nation’s defense.. “Preach it brother” indeed…remember,, this is a President whose personal preacher (for 20 yrs) held–and still holds–a white-hot hatred and contempt for white America and everything that ‘white America” built and stands for. You name it–defense policy, energy/climate policy, immigration policy, gun-control–is there ANYTHING that the original character in the film Manchurian Candidate would have done that could be ANY WORSE than the policies currently emanating from 1600 Penn. Ave short of abject surrender and the opening of our borders to the armies of our sworn enemies? If Obama thought he could get away with it he would officially surrender to Venezuela tomorrow…as long as he was named life-time American Regent as the”peoples representative” that is…
VX- I said “maybe” and don’t sugar coat it.
Is this the same Panetta that recently hinted that my “free health care for life” Tricare premiums will probably be increasing 345% over the next five years, and my co-pays will be tripling? Seems to me that he’s leading the way in forcing military health care, active and retired, into the Obamanation’s state insurance exchanges in order to force everyone into Obamacare.
Of course, I could just be paranoid……hang on, someone’s at the door…….
/sarcasm
While he’s slicing Tricare beyond any reason, none of the government UNION benefits or perks got touched.
As John Gotti used to say; “You’ve got to have priorities.”
The military is always an easy target.